Surgical procedures are fraught with the possibility of infectious contact of surgical personnel with body fluids, particularly the blood of patients. Surgical gowns and gloves are designed to provide protection. However, exigencies of the situation, particularly with the use of sharp instruments, contact with bone, application of excessive pressure and necessarily thin gloves can occasionally lead to unnoticed pinholes, rips, etc. in the protective garment. This leads to the ingress of possibly infectious body fluids into direct contact with the surgical personnel. The prevalence of AIDS and HIV has most recently exacerbated such concern. Expedients to alleviate such concern generally encompass the use of pin-hole detection devices which provide immediate warning of a breach to allow for immediate effective action.
An example of such warning device is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 4,956,635 in which a circuit, interrupted by the surgical gloves, is established between surgeon and patient. A reference external electrical circuit is established on the surgeon, wherein a breach in the glove barrier results in a measurable voltage drop which triggers an alarm warning. However, spurious signals can be triggered, such as by static electric charge build-ups and discharges, which generate a sufficient voltage.
Interruptions in surgical procedures resulting from spurious signals are costly and possibly harmful.